Aldon Smith opens the 49ers season against the Saints

I wouldn’t call him the defensive rookie of the year just yet, but lining up next to Patrick Willis certainly has huge benefits. After the tremendous potential he’s displayed through his first two weeks as a professional, there’s a lot of anticipation among the 49ers about what Aldon Smith will do when he finally lets loose in a live game situation. The first-round draft pick has been the real deal so far in training camp.

I think it is safe to say that he will be starting at the right outside linebacker position. You don’t draft a player #7 overall to sit on the bench. Aldon Smith has impressed San Francisco 49er coaches with his technique and ability to get to the pass rusher during training camp. This is something that San Francisco desperately needs at this point. They don’t have a lot of other options in terms of linebackers being able to get 10+ sacks. Of course, Aldon also played on the defensive line on college, so in the linebacker position he will need to grasp better knowledge of dropping back into pass coverage. Or perhaps he can end up like Clay Matthews, and be a beast sacking the quarterback.

The 49ers will be against the team that took their old DT Aubrayo Franklin, so expect some fun battles for the 49ers offense tonight!